Radiator-tube brace



July 7,1925. 1,544,692

c. SONNEBORN RADIATOR TUBE BRACE Filed July 10', 1924 WITNESSESS INVENTOR To all whom it may concern:

Patented July 7, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES SONNEBORN, OF WEST PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASS IGNOR TO PRESSED METAL RADIATOR COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A

CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

RADIATOR-TUBE BRACE.

Be it known that I, CHARLES SoNNEBoRN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of West Pittsburgh, in the county of Law rence and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful" Improvement in Radiator-Tube Braces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to braces for radiator tubes. The objects of the invention are to provide an intermediate reinforcing'and bracing cage for the long thin-walled tubes such as are employed in certain forms of radiators used for cooling transformers.

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a side .elevation of a radiator such as those now employed in combination with oil-containing tanks for cooling transformers of large size, showing a bracing cage embodying this invention applied at the middle portion thereof; and Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the radiator on the line IIII of Fig. 1.

In recent years there has come into wide commercial use a form of detachable radiator adapted to be connected'at its ends to the top and bottom of a tank, in which an electrical transformer is submerged in oil. As the transformer heats up the oil is caused by thermal action to circulate up and down in the tank, and as a result of the currents set up by the heating of the transformer, oil passes through pipes 1 leading out near the top of the tank into the radiators with which this invention is particularly concerned, downward through the radiator as it cools,

and back into the bottom of the tank through pipe 2, in a manner Well understood in the art, and not necessary to describe here. The general construction of radiators such as those with which this invention is concerned is. described in my Patent No. 1,820,652. They consist of sheet metal headers 3, and 4:, connected by intermediate flattened or oval shaped thin-walled tubes 5. These headers have external welded-on disks 6, adapted to be bolted to the flanges 7 of the pipes 1 and 2, as is well known in the art, and which has nothing to'do with the present invention.

The tubes 5 are welded into the headers,-

and are made of thin sheet metal, welded along a seam, and are usually of flattened elliptical shape as shown in Fig. 2. The thin walls and flattened shape are used for the purpose of securing the greatest possible cooling surface and effect for a given body of oil and size of tube. They are ordinarily arranged in three parallel rows, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and for convenience the tubes are marked 5, 5 and 5 respectively, in the three rows. The tubes with respect to those of adjacent rows are arranged in staggered order, so as to give maximum exposure of the tube walls to air currents.

' The transformers equipped with these radiators are frequently placed out of doors. When they are of large capacity, as they are coming more and more to be made, the cooling tank is of large size and the radiator units of considerable length. Such radiators are now made as long as twelve feet.- It has been found withsuch long radiators that a high Wind will set up a vibration of the thin flat tubes that will cause them to bang together at their middle portions, producing objectionable noise, and also tending to start leaks by crystallizing and cracking the metal at the portions where the ends of the tubes are welded into the headers.

The present invention prevents that trouble by utilizing two outer b ars 10 and 11, having their ends 12 and 13 respectively, turned inward to engage the outer faces of the ends of the outermost tubes 5 and 5 Intermediate bars 14 and 15 are positioned betweenthe rows of tubes 5 and 5 and 5 and 5", respectively, and extend from end to end of the rows of tubes. The bars are-conneoted together by a series of cross members 16, each of which has an enlarged head 17, with an adjacent non-circular portion 18, adapted to cooperate with a non-circular opening in the bar 11, and a threaded portion 19 adapted to be engaged by a nut 20,

at the other end. Intermediate portions 21' I and 11 are drawn together, squeezing the tubes 5, 5 and 5 towards each other, and into contact with bars 14 and 15, and thus all of the tubes are tightly gripped between supporting braces at their middle portions and thus protected against vibration or wind strain.

At the same time this bracing construction offers a minimum obstruction to the upper currents of air set up around the hot tubes, and consequently there is no shutting off of the air circulation around and between the tubes. This is a Vital point since the efficiency of such radiators largely depends upona free circulation of air through and around the tubes between the headers.- It will be observed that every tube of the radiators is held by this bracing device. It is extremely simple in construction and operation, highly efiicient and inexpensive to manufacture.

I claim:

The combination with a radiator comprising two headers and a plurality of long fiattened thin-walled connecting tubes extending between the headers and arranged in three or more parallel rows With the tubes of the several rows staggered in crosswise relation to the tubes of adjacent rows, of a plurality of bars positioned one on each side of each of the rows midway between the ends of the tubes, and transverse clamping members curved to pass around intermediate tubes passing through the bars and adapted to draw the two outer bars towards each other, whereby to hold each of the tubes clamped between two bars. j

In testimony whereot I sign my name.

CHARLES SONNEBORN.

Witness:

EDWIN O. J OHNS. 

